The SEO Mindset Hosts on Podcasting: Being Authentic, Knowing Your Audience and Top Advice
This week, Sarah McDowell and Tazmin Suleman hosts of the SEO Mindset podcast join me to chat about their journey as podcasters.
Sarah and Tazmin offer up their top tips and advice that they learned along the way!
We talk about editing, community, being your authentic self as a podcaster, fitting it all into your schedule, some of their challenges and sponsorship.
Key takeaways are:
☑️ Don't over-edit your episodes
☑️ Be yourself!
☑️ Be kind to yourself (we are often our own biggest critic)
☑️ Be sure who your audience is
☑️ Knowing what your processes are
☑️ One of their biggest tips is to just try it! You'll soon find out if you love it or hate it.
About my guests
Sarah McDowell and Tazmin Suleman are hosts of The SEO Mindset Podcast.
Giving actionable personal growth and career development tips to SEO professionals, so they can optimise their career and not just the algorithms.
Transcript
Rachael Botfield: [00:00:00] Hi there and welcome to this week's episode. And today I have not one, but two podcast hosts with me. I have Tasmin and Sarah from the SEO Mindset podcast. Hi guys. I'm really pleased that you're here today to share your experiences around your podcast.
Sarah McDowell: Thank you. Thank you very much for having us.
Tasmin, sorry, I could, I could see that you were wanting to interject. No,
Tazmin Suleman: I'm being on best behavior. Hello, everybody.
Sarah McDowell: Never true. Never true.
Rachael Botfield: So I wanted Tasmin and Sarah to come along and share their experiences about their podcast so that you, the listener, get to... You know, have that real insight into what it's actually like running and managing your podcast.
Because obviously sometimes what you imagine it's like is completely different when you're [00:01:00] actually in the thick of it. So first I just like you guys to introduce your podcast and tell us a little bit about how you came to, decide to do the SEO Mindset podcast.
Sarah McDowell: . Wonderful. So I will do the spiel. I'll do the what they call it, the elevator pitch, the sales pitch, and I will then hand over to Tazmin about why we started it. So. Yes, the SEO mindset. So we are a weekly podcast with new episodes that go out every Thursday.
And what we aim to do with our podcast is each week we delve into a really important topic and we share actionable tips and strategies that listeners can implement that will help with their personal growth. And career development. So our tagline is so you can optimize your career and not just the algorithms because [00:02:00] yeah, like, wow.
Yeah, you have an algorithm yourself, don't you? But it's a mixture. So me and Tazmin will jump on together and we'll delve into topics, just us two, and then we invite guests on as well. So yeah, we've been going for over a year now, which is really exciting. I didn't, I think Tazmin, did you count up the episodes, like.
At one point we have like 70 or quite, yeah, but anyway Tazmin, why did we start it? I'll let you answer that one.
Tazmin Suleman: I think what Sarah and I were keen to do was create a space where we could have open and honest conversations about career growth. But also talk about the pitfalls that people are going through, such as exhaustion, burnout, stress anxiousness, and they seem to be almost like going hand in hand with career growth, and we're very keen to, A, recognize that You, that person's not alone.
Often when you're in that space, you [00:03:00] feel like you're the only one going through it. So to create community around that and give actionable tips on how to manage that, because when you don't have those tactics, it just gets bigger and bigger. So that's what we're keen to do, you know, facilitate career growth, personal growth, but holistically keeping an eye on mental health as well.
Sarah McDowell: And just to add two things to that, like so me and Tazmin are part of a wonderful community, Women in Tech, SEO which founded by Areej Abu Ali. And when we were having conversations with people in that community. These kind of topics would come up, so we're like, ah, and also there's lots of wonderful SEO podcasts out there that tell you how to do SEO.
But there wasn't one that was specifically talking about these kind of subjects, which are just as important as, okay, how do I rank number one, right these kinds of topics and the [00:04:00] things that me and Tazmin sort of delve into are just as important as well, so.
Rachael Botfield: Absolutely. Those type of topics are very important and Would resonate and do resonate with not just, you know, people within your industry, but across, you know, all jobs.
I've listened to your podcast. I'm not in SEO, but I really can resonate with the themes that you were talking about. One of your episodes, you were talking about a win jar. I have a win tin. I've started one. So I love that. And I listened I listened to your one about quiet quitting and loud quitting and.
That was so interesting because I had a completely different understanding of what I thought it was. So that was really, really interesting to me. So is your main target audience people based in the SEO industry? Is that who you kind of were thinking of when you, when you did this?
Sarah McDowell: Yeah. Well, this, this is something that.
Me and Tazmin always talk about it was the reason that it started and it's called the SEO mindset was because our audience, it made sense to kind [00:05:00] of focus on the SEO industry because there is an argument, isn't there? Like if you try and go too broad. Compared to like niching and targeting down, like sometimes it's better to really target down because it's less competitive and all of that.
But yeah, like I hear all the time that other people that aren't in the SEO industry listen to our episodes and it's great. And I mean, I get that the topics that we talk about, it's not just in the SEO industry, like loads of people suffer with anxiety, imposter syndrome time management, I suppose the only thing is that.
We give examples from the SEO industry. Do you know what I mean? So when we want to sort of give like real life examples or like, yeah, and stuff like that. I don't know what you would say on that Tazmin.
Tazmin Suleman: Same. And I think although it's some of the examples around, for example, presenting, now that's not specific to SEO, that could be in any.
Any industry, it's [00:06:00] just that that's the space that we come from and especially, you know, frequenting Brighton SEO , you know, that's that the focal point. But with any mental health advice the tips and the techniques could resonate with many people.
Sarah McDowell: And that's, and that's a good point. Sorry to go off on a bit of a tangent is something that we do.
So there's a big conference in Brighton called Brighton SEO. Well, thousands of SEO, I always want to say SEO nerds, but, you know, SEO professionals, there we go. Load thousands of SEO professionals will flock to Brighton and it's a conference over a couple of days. So something that we've been doing, we've done it twice, I think, haven't we Tazmin, where.
We'll do a live podcast, so that's really fun. So we make an event of it. So rather than recording in our bedrooms, we, we record in front of an audience, which is really fun. But obviously the idea is that most of the people that [00:07:00] will be at that live. Podcast are people from the SEO community because they're there to watch Brighton.
They're there for Brighton SEO, but we equally, it's a funny thing because we have people who attend who are in Brighton because they live there or what have you. So
Rachael Botfield: I think you're right. I think it's good to have, you know, you're within that industry yourself. So it makes sense to be focusing on the SEO industry and you're right.
And if you are too broad, then you run the risk of not appealing to. Anyone at all. Once it was, are they saying your marketing as well, isn't it? You know, you need to focus and niche down the more that and other people will naturally find you, but having that, that's your experience as well. Both of you, isn't it, you know, within that industry.
So it's great to talk from that place with your experience. How have you found like all the production and. recording side of things. You, I know Sarah that you're this is your fourth [00:08:00] podcast, so you're no, you're not a newbie to podcast. Tazmin, have you done any of the podcasts before this one or is this your kind of first foray into podcasting?
Tazmin Suleman: Very, very much my first. And so nervous. I remember the first time Sarah and I recorded, I was very tense, bear in mind that we started recording in the March and then we didn't actually meet in person until September. So that added a layer of complexity to, to the interaction. But I find that as time has gone by, you can sort of like sink into the role much better and feel more at ease when you're speaking.
But I would, I'd recommend it to anyone, even for the boost of confidence you get. At least it's a certain skillset and that skillset then carries into other areas as well.
Sarah McDowell: Yeah. And just to add, I think lots of people , so if we're specifically talking about people who want to start a podcast and they're a little bit nervous [00:09:00] because it's the unknown or they let the fear get in the way, but.
Nine times out of the 10, every time that I've done something new, it's always the fear that's much worse than the actual doing. And at the end of the day, you've got to try stuff and you'll either like it. Or you hate it and if you don't like it, just don't do it again. Right. You know, no one's forcing you to carry on with a podcast, but also I think I understand that it can be overwhelming because you're like, Oh crikey, like how do I record, what equipment do I need?
How do I go about this? Like where, how do I distribute it and stuff? So I get that that's overwhelming. So not just the speaking side, like Tazman said, but there's also the. The logistics of like actually like producing a podcast, but you just get better and you learn and you pick stuff up and I've been podcasting for four years, I [00:10:00] think four or five years.
And. I've managed to streamline and get much quicker at the podcast, podcasting process, just because I'm picking up new skills and I'm trying new things. And yeah, like I remember back in the day I used to spend hours editing a podcast, like literally every breath, every filler word, every and I was just like, do you know what?
It's actually taken me hours to edit and I was like, let me, let me like cut myself a bit of slack and you know what, listeners didn't like, I didn't lose listeners because the audio is still there and like podcast, I'm going off on a bit of a tangent now, aren't I? But podcasts can be conversational.
They're chatty. They are laid back and yes, edit out any. big boo boos. And I love how Tasmin always calls them boo boos. Like, so, sorry, I'm sharing this now just because it warms my heart, but when Tasmin records podcasts with her guests and she gives me the notes, [00:11:00] so then I know what I'm editing, she'll be like, no boo boos.
Tazmin Suleman: It's a technical term, I'm sure it is.
Rachael Botfield: Yeah, I would agree that, you know, the more you get into it and the more experience that you get. You know, you, you do streamline things. And I think one of the most important things, if you really would like to start a podcast is just to. Try it, just do it. And like you said, if you don't like it or it's not for you, then you'll quickly find that out rather than always wondering, whether you want to do it.
Sarah McDowell: There's lots of free tools. I mean, the one bit of equipment that I would recommend is a microphone. Do you know what I mean? Like the quality of your audio matters and headphones help as well. But most of us already own headphones, don't we? So yeah, like as long as you've got a microphone, you've got an idea of what you're talking about and you figured out a way of recording, like what tool you're going to use, again, there's loads out [00:12:00] there that are free, some that you have to pay for, but you just got to do it.
But I think Tazmin would agree. And yourself, Rachael, that like, if you compare the first ever podcast episode that you ever recorded to what you're doing now, you're 10 times better, aren't you?
Rachael Botfield: Yeah, absolutely. , I felt much the same as you Tazmin when I first started I had a different podcast I did about virtual assistants and I was so nervous.
I thought it was just on my own as well, so I had guests. So, and I used to think about when I was chatting to people as like some big interview, you know, hold on a minute, this is not journalism, you know, serious stuff, that's how I kind of had it in my head.
So having, like, the conversation was really, you know, took me a while to get into that. Do you feel it took you a bit of time, Tazmin, to get into you know, get used to the kind of conversations and having different guests on and things?
Tazmin Suleman: I think one, one of the good things is the first podcast we recorded together was about the differences [00:13:00] between a fixed and growth mindset.
And I had 10 points to go through. And the first one recorded, I was like, you know, this is the news at 10 type of and at number one, it's very serious, but we, we were chatting. So we couldn't get through all 10. I think we did five. And straight away, Sarah said, right, this is going really well. Why don't we just jump on again and record the next five?
And that put me at ease because it straight away gave me that validation that it's going well enough that a seasoned podcaster is saying, go ahead. So that was one thing I wanted to say. The other thing, going back to what you said, Sarah, that the first podcast you record is going to be way worse than you do now, accept that the first five, 10 are not going to be great.
It's fine, first of all, get through them as quick as possible. Get through them. I'm a lot more comfortable with guests now and I'm a lot more I allow myself to choose the guests. [00:14:00] So there is a vibe where there, there is a connection. You build a connection over, you know, whether it's messaging or more and more.
Sarah and I, when we meet people at conferences and we really enjoy their talk, we invite them on straight away. See. We'd love to hear, you know, our listeners to hear about that. It's like you say, it's just bedding yourself into that role and allowing yourself to wear the hat of, I am a podcaster with everything that brings.
Sarah McDowell: And something that I would like to say as well is I can't stress enough how important being your true authentic self is. So, because at the end of the day, You want your audience to relate to you and relate to what you're talking about and your shows. So , if you're trying to put on this.
person that you think that you should, because that's what a podcaster is, that it's going to be much better if you're just yourself and you have a laugh and a joke[00:15:00] and you can be at ease. I mean, if you can, and maybe start in a podcast, maybe you can reach out to a friend because. My first ever podcast that I ever did was SEO SAS and I did that with a good friend of mine and one of the reviews that we've got is like, ah, it's like, you guys have been friends forever.
There's like a chemistry between you. And it's like, well, because we have, do you know what I mean? So I think, but that was really quite special between me and Tazmin because like, even though we didn't meet in person for a very long time, there was this chemistry that was. Being built through the screen and yeah, like obviously you can't always, you can't get to the bottom of why chemistry happens.
Chemistry is chemistry, right? But you'll click with some people, won't you? And with guests, like you'll have some guests that will come on and you click instantly and the chat's really good and it's like, Ooh, and then you have other times where [00:16:00] like, yeah, it's still as good, but it's not as chatty.
Rachael Botfield: it's the same. Yeah. When you meet people in real life, isn't it? Sometimes you do just click with people and you really, really get on. And then, you know, so don't be disheartened if you're doing, you know, feeling a bit awkward to start with. I love that you said about feeling, you know, being your authentic self.
Cause I think I had that impression that, you know, have to be this interviewer to you know, answer all the right questions and get to the heart of the matter. It's like, well, I'm really just doing a podcast about what it's like. My first one was about being a virtual assistant and their journey.
And that's, it's not that type of podcast, not a news podcast. So I think you have those ideas in your head that it has to be a certain way. I think listening to trying to listen to maybe other podcasts that are similar to what you want to do or in your area. So I know a lot of people who listen to this podcast, you know, are women and have their own businesses and, you know, listen to some of the podcasts that [00:17:00] other women are doing and then get like a sense of, you know, not to copy or, you know, to, to feel like you have to do it in that way, but just to get, you know, a whole mix of what people are doing and different things so that you can, you know, find your way into how you would like to do yours. A hundred percent.
Tazmin Suleman: One last thing. Don't feel that you have to be a perfectionist, I think and feel like you've gotta stop and start. Today I was recording with somebody and I couldn't say 20, I still can't say it. 2007. I could not say 2007, I was going 2 0 0 7 and she, she laughed and she corrected me Now. A few months ago, a year ago, I would have been mortified, stopped it, started again.
And I thought, it doesn't matter. Does it really matter?
Sarah McDowell: No, but then again, like it's about authentic, your help, you're helping build this connection. And like, if that guest laughed at it, then our [00:18:00] listeners are going to laugh at it. And also. You've got to be careful as well, because if you edit your audio too much, because you want perfection, it actually won't end up flowing as nicely anyway.
Do I mean?
Rachael Botfield: Yeah, it takes, it does sometimes take the conversation, conversationalist bit out of it, if I can say that word. I, I used to edit a lot more heavily than I do now. I do get conscious of how many ums or so words that I say, but I've now kind of. Got over some of those things, because I know I often say it when I'm trying to think of something or think of a response and that is what actually happens in real life as well.
But you know, we don't all have everything ready, queued up to go and say everything perfectly. So I think that it's kind of important as well to. Show, you know, we are all human and getting, I can't think how to word what I want to say, like saying about [00:19:00] perfectionists and no one does something, what, what we think is perfect.
Sarah McDowell: Yeah, and also, sorry to interject, but is it like an idea that like you are always going to be your own biggest critic at the end of the day? And when you listen, like loads of people don't like listen back to themselves because you're like, Oh, I could have said that better. Oh, I'm saying and like too much, but like, cut yourself some slack, cut, like, be kind to yourself.
Something that I'm going off on a tangent, but something that I try and do nowadays is if I wouldn't say something to a friend or family member, I try and not say it to myself.
Rachael Botfield: Yes, that is. That's a good way to think about it because we are so awful to ourselves and half of the things we do say to ourselves, we wouldn't say that to anyone else to their face.
Sarah McDowell: Exactly, exactly. And I think like, if someone if I reached out and was like, oh, this podcast episode, oh, like, and started. Worrying, they'll be like my [00:20:00] cheerleader and be like, you are on a podcast. You said all this stuff. You were amazing. So what? Like, so just try and do that for yourself, I suppose. Yeah.
Rachael Botfield: And I think you do get used to, I, you know, is always sometimes a bit cringeless listening back to yourself, but it's cause you don't hear yourself the same way as you hear yourself in your head. But I've got, now that I've been listening to myself, podcasting and stuff for the last couple of years, I've actually got a lot more used to my voice.
And. Although sometimes I think it's a little bit cringe, but a lot of the time, it's just, a lot of it just sounds like me now. So I think you, you do get over that aspect the longer that you do something because you're just so used to hearing your voice when you're editing and listening back to the episode and things.
Sarah McDowell: And also it is horrible listening back to yourself, but by listening back to yourself, you can improve as well. Do you know what I mean? Like, so yeah
Rachael Botfield: so I just wanted to talk a little bit about the [00:21:00] community around your podcast. I know that you have, cause I want to, also wanted to congratulate on your sponsorship for this season for Wix, which I think is really awesome. And I think after talking to Sarah about how your sponsorship came about as well, I think you've got like a really good community behind your podcast, a lot of people, you know, listening and supporting you. And so how do you feel about your community and how you interact with them?
Sarah McDowell: Very good question. Tazmin, do you want to tackle it or?
Tazmin Suleman: So in terms of when you meet people face, face to face, for example, at, at conferences, it's really warming when they'll come up to you and say, you know, I'd listen to this podcast, and that particular one resonated.
You feel that, you feel good because you're, you're doing something right, because if they are benefiting from it, which is the ultimate aim. And I think it's mainly at conferences that we, we get to, [00:22:00] to see them, but then equally people will message me. But I would, Sarah, I'd quite like more of interaction with them.
We've talked about having an SEO mindset day.
Sarah McDowell: Yeah, I mean, so a big thing is your community, isn't it? So I think first things first to build like a loyal, like fans and community around your podcast. First, you need to be really sure who your audience is. Cause then you can make sure that you're always speaking with them. But I think. Me and Tazmin are quite conscious of, like, if we meet someone in conference, a conference face to face, and they'll come and talk to us, we'll, we'll talk back to them or they'll reach out to us online as well, through like emails or on social media.
I think. It also helps because me and Tazmin have our own personal, following and, and, and things like that. And that links [00:23:00] towards the podcast as well, the live podcast as well. So when people can come and physically see like an event like that, I suppose it's a hard one, isn't it? But I think. This whole thing of like how we've developed this community is sticking to, this is why we're doing it.
This is our audience. This is me and Tazmin authentically. It's the guests that we get on. It's the sharing and getting the. episodes out there, it's the collaborations that we do as well. So obviously with the live podcast, that's a collaboration with a good friend of ours Jack Search Candor podcast.
But we've also done other collaborations opinionated, SEO opinions and stuff. So I suppose it's about identifying who you can work with and yeah, just making sure that you are given time to your community. I don't know if that's a wishy washy answer, but
Rachael Botfield: no, no, that's great. It's something that I would like to build more around my podcast [00:24:00] and some of you listening might know that Sarah and I have started our own podcast community, which is kind of separate to our podcasts more as a, podcast, podcasting as a, as a whole. So lots of different types of podcasts and people wanting to start one. And just coming to talk about getting help and support and just chatting about podcasts really. But it's something that the more and more that I interact with people and speak to people within our podcast community, that it reminds me about how important.
Community can make you feel and how heard that you can feel you know, around whatever it is you're looking for.
Sarah McDowell: Something that me and Tazmin we've spoke about and plan to do more is like giving shout outs on our, on our podcast. So we, so we already do that in the sense of with every guest that comes on, we're like, shout out someone doing awesome stuff in the community and we'll give them a bit of love and then, then we tag them and stuff.
But there's more ways that we can [00:25:00] do more like with donations and tips, having a shout out or like. When people say stuff to us. So yeah, I dunno, like, yeah, it's a tricky one. Like, building a community is hard, but it is important because once you've got your loyal super fans as we were, yeah. Like, they'll help share your stuff.
And that's something that we do as well, isn't it, Tazmin? Like in our podcast episodes, we ask people to share it with their friends and family as well. Mm-hmm.
Rachael Botfield: I think that the referrals and sharing it with friends and family and people that you know is, is one of the best ways to get your podcast kind of in front of new people.
If I ever meet anybody that has a podcast, I always kind of like immediately go and add it in my app so I can go and listen to it. And then if I like it, I do. Definitely recommend it around. So, you know, all for the different types of promotion and people that we can, we can do for our podcast. I still think the best type of one [00:26:00] is that referral.
Cause you've got that kind of stamp of approval from that other person that's listened to you and thought, Oh, this is really great. I know who else would like it. So yeah, that's, I love that. And it must be, must be quite an experience doing a live podcast as well. And then having the chance to meet some of those people in real life as well, because it's, you know, increasingly in our virtual world, especially since COVID, you know, we're all doing this online.
It's really nice to have that. In face to face interaction as well. Do you think that helps bore you up for your episodes?
Tazmin Suleman: I think something that Sarah said earlier really ties into this, which is about being authentically you. So when then you have that live podcast, for example, you turn up as you and you sound like you were on the podcast itself when Sarah and I speak a lot.
So when we speak, I will say, you know, this is the coaching business and also co host of the SEO mindset podcast. And what I'm saying also then [00:27:00] links in, so your branding, the podcast branding, it all fits. And then that makes it easier for people to trust you. And that then goes into the building of the community.
If you're not turning up as you, then you're not going to be able to build that community. What do you think, Sarah?
Sarah McDowell: Yeah, definitely. And it's like remembering to actually follow up with people as well. So if you meet someone and you click and you get on and things like give the, like, follow them on social media and like interact with them and stuff, or make sure that like you follow up with like a new podcast episode that you've launched and stuff like that.
But I think. There's a lot that we've, lots of different things that have fed into how we've built a community up around it. And yeah, like I love doing the live podcast because it's a chance, it's something fun. [00:28:00] Oh, and also, so most of the times, like there's no interaction on a podcast. It's always like one sided.
So what's super lovely when we do a live podcast is that we have a Q and A session at the end. But I don't know why we call it Q and A because. We get questions, but people are just sharing their own experiences, aren't they? It has been like, they want to be part of the conversation. And that's really lovely as well, because then that becomes part of the podcast.
And then when that gets put on our feed and then someone else listens to it, and then they're like, Oh, okay, I'm going to be in Brighton SEO. I want to be part of this because we're all about creating a safe space where you can talk about these things that. a bit taboo, well it shouldn't be taboo, but do you know what I mean?
That don't often get spoken about. Yeah, yeah. And it's, and it just feeds into this idea that we're creating a space, safe space, come and talk. So the topic so far that we've covered is [00:29:00] anxiety at conferences and energy levels at conferences. And each time, like the end of the podcast is just.
Everyone's sharing. Everyone talking and it's lovely, isn't it, Tazmin?
Tazmin Suleman: It is really nice, and that's what I suppose then again, it builds into that community. They're not just being talked at. They're part of it and they make it what it is, which is beautiful.
Rachael Botfield: It just sounds like a really great experience.
It is nice to have that. You know, other communication with them, like say sometimes when you're recording them you're talking out there. So to have that input and have people share their experiences, it's, it's refreshing to have, and I think podcasts are great, a great medium for that, for creating a safe space for people to talk about vulnerable things and things that are bothering them in their mind.
And like you say, taboo, as much as everyone says it's okay, you know, people still feel like they can't share those kinds of experiences. So it's great that you're [00:30:00] providing a place for people to do that. So. I'm just thinking what else I wanted to ask, I did want to talk about, just ask a little quickly about the kind of, because I know you both do this podcast on the side, it's not your day job.
So how do you find fitting all the interviews and editing and all those kinds of things? Fitting it in to your very busy schedules.
Sarah McDowell: Who, do you want to go first, Tazmin?
Tazmin Suleman: Yeah, so I've, I've found that it's better for me to do the bulk of my recording on, on one or two days a week.
So I allocate like a podcast. Today it's been a podcast day. It's the third one I'm recording. Oh. Partly because. On Tuesdays, I have the house to myself in general. So it makes it easier not to have people coming in and out of the room, but then you're also in that head space as well. I find chopping and changing harder.
I prefer it [00:31:00] like this, but as with most things, when you batch things up. It becomes smoother. So recording will be on one day. Tomorrow I'm going to be doing some presenting. So it'll be a lot of prep and the presenting and then Thursdays I generally will either have coaching or one to one coaching.
So it just makes it easier to streamline things. The episodes that Sarah and I. Record together, they're a little bit more random. It's trying to squeeze those in, in her schedule and my schedule. But when, when we have them, we say we'll only talk for like half an hour and 45 minutes, but we don't, it's, we're very chatty.
Sarah McDowell: But I think, I think that's how I'd answer that question is it doesn't feel like a job for me. Do you know what I mean? Like it's a hobby, like going what, what do people do for hobby? Going to the cinema going out for dinner, going to the gym. [00:32:00] Like I really enjoy podcasting. So like when there's an evening that me and Tasman have set aside to record a podcast, I really look forward to that because we record a couple of podcasts, but then we have a little chit chat as well.
Sort of thing. So I think for me. Because it doesn't feel like a job. It doesn't feel like, oh, I'm half to, when am I gonna fit this schedule in? And also it doesn't take me long to edit and publish a podcast episode now because I've really streamlined my processes. So I know that yeah, so I allocate time once a week for that to happen.
Something that me and Tazmin. Do struggle with is the promotion side, because you can always be promoted. There's never, I've done too much promotion. Do you know what I mean? a challenge that we're doing at the moment because like, I mean, it's a good thing to have because like with all the other bits of like when in a podcast, like you've got, [00:33:00] you've got to.
plan your episodes, you've got to record your episodes, you've got to edit your pod episodes, you've got to get it out there, you've got to promote it. There's also the other side of the sponsorships like, and things now, and it's all wonderful stuff. But as, as a podcast. Gets bigger, that is a hobby. I suppose that's the bit that's a bit tricky because it then has to be like, Oh, it's a hobby, but I'm having to kind of manage it as a business.
And I know that Tazmin might feel a little bit different because. Would you argue that this is part of your business? I don't know, like, or is it like a hobby?
Tazmin Suleman: So it started off as a hobby, but as things have sort of merged together, I would definitely say this is part of my business.
This is one of my products as it were. But it. For me, and then that's why I think the batching for me works because I'm focusing on this. I recorded a really good episode with somebody today [00:34:00] about how to have a thriving business and not get burnt out. And one of the things she was saying there was, document your processes, even if it's just you. So, for example, on the promotional side, in my head, I'm better clued on about, Oh, I've recorded a podcast today, and I'm going to put it in my stories to say it's going to come out in a few weeks time. And then what am I going to do? And then what am I going to do?
And it's about having that process. So talk about it, record it, tell everyone. You know, have it published, tell everyone, so that when you do find that it is getting bigger and you need someone to take over that, that process is already documented.
Rachael Botfield: That's a great tip because you can't really outsource it if you don't understand and know the process yourself because you can't.
you know, need to be able to have that detail to explain someone else who can [00:35:00] take on that part for you.
Tazmin Suleman: And part of the, part of the company that does a bit more of my social media now, I get them to talk about the podcast, but again, it's not just handing it over. It's saying, right, when it's Sarah and myself recording, then you need to tag Sarah when it's Sarah.
And when it's me and a guest, you tag the guest, but you also tag Sarah. And it's making sure that you're setting the standard for how you're going to promote it. But we're learning, aren't we, Sarah, as we go along.
Sarah McDowell: Yeah. And I think we've come so far and talking about the win jar, right.
Celebrating our wins, because we can all get to a place where we reach a goal or a target that we want to, and then we are onto the next one. But actually, if I reflect back on like everything that we've done so far, like the podcast, when did we start? March. March. Yeah. So it's a year and March, April, may, June, July was, yeah.
So we just count on my hands. So year and a half, that's [00:36:00] exactly what I was . Year and a half. But in that year and a half, We have like, we've done live podcasts, we've managed to do co labs with other people. We've had so many fantastic guests come on. We've had companies that want to be a sponsor. Do you know what I mean?
Rachael Botfield: Yes, of course. Yes. We mentioned that at the beginning about, after you said this, you have to tell us a little bit more about, about your sponsor.
Sarah McDowell: What it's like we got mentioned, so search engine journal is really popular for in SEO industry news, so it's like, yeah, so like get lots of traffic and.
They mentioned us as one of the best SEO podcast and we were number two and number one was the Search Engine Journal podcast and stuff. So, do you know what I mean? And when I think back to all the successes that we've had cause you can be like, compare yourself to other podcasts and what they're doing.
We also like doubled our listeners, didn't we?
So when I look back and [00:37:00] actually think, crikey, like we were doing all right. Yeah,
Tazmin Suleman: we should, we should do some merchandise. We should get an SEO mindset. win jar.
Rachael Botfield: Yes, you should. You totally should do merch. My client and my friend, Hannah is just doing some, she's got some merch sorted out. I think it's really awesome.
So you definitely should. They don't. Mine's just got a flowery tin I had some hand cream in at the moment.
Oh, that's awesome. So yeah, tell us a little bit about your sponsor. Because I think this is really fantastic for you guys.
Sarah McDowell: Great question. It's, it's a bit of a weird one, isn't it Tazmin? Because actually they reached out to us. So, which is bonkers if I think about it. So. What happened was I have a contact at Wix my friend called Mordy and I don't really know how we got on each other's radar, but there was a bit of, [00:38:00] I went on.
His podcast, he came on my podcast he also asked for input on this article he was putting together on the Wix website about podcast SEO. So we kind of knew each other and, oh, and he asked me to host a Twitter chat and things. So there was a bit of back and forth. So obviously we knew about each other.
But the actual sponsorship email completely came out of the blue really cause we didn't reach out to them. And I randomly got an email from Mordy one day and he CC'd in a guy called Guy and. Guy looked after partnerships and sponsorships and Mordy was like, Oh, I'd like to introduce you to Guy. Basically, can we pay you to say nice stuff?
And I think Mordy, even in the email was like, kudos, Sarah. I didn't even. mention to Guy about the SEO mindset, this has come from them. So I don't really [00:39:00] know how that came about really, so.
Rachael Botfield: Well, that's fantastic anyway. Great for your podcast and brilliant just to show that you. Reaching people and you're able to get your message and who you are doing this podcast for, that you're, you're getting out there and to those people and people are recognizing that.
So that's a fantastic achievement.
Sarah McDowell: I think that's it, isn't it? It's maybe we got on their radar because of all the, like, because you've got to put yourself out there at the end of the day, haven't you? And I think also because. We offer something that's different to other SEO, awesome SEO podcasts out there, but we're different because we just focus on the soft skills.
Like there's lots of elements really. I mean, Tazmin, what did you think about it when I was like, Wix wants to sponsor us?
Tazmin Suleman: When I told my family, they too thought Wix, the hardware store, apart from one niece who said, why would a hardware store [00:40:00] be sponsoring Auntie Tazmin's podcast?
It's obviously the website people. Oh, little smart cookie. Oh, she is smart cookie. And they're going, no, of course not the websites. She's right. But I was telling Sarah that I know somebody I have a contact at the hardware Wix. So one day maybe we have the SEO Mindset Podcast sponsored by Wix and Wix.
That's goal. That would be great. 20, 24 goals there, you right.
Rachael Botfield: You definitely have the the merch at Wix as well, can't you? We hit the nail on the head with our podcast. Yay!
Sarah McDowell: So, Tazmin doesn't need any more ideas, like, yeah, like, not, yeah, I mean, it's wonderful Tazmin, idea, idea lady, but it's like, Tazmin's like, oh, wouldn't it be great if we did,
Tazmin Suleman: if I have to stop now.
I thought, oh, it'd be great if I wrote, like, an e [00:41:00] book on the top 20 episodes of the SEO Mindset Podcast with tips from so and so and so and so and so and so and so and so. I'll just do that at the weekend, yeah. Yeah,
Rachael Botfield: just flash it out there.
Sarah McDowell: Don't you wish sometimes when an idea comes to your head, you could just click your finger and say it's done?
Well,
Rachael Botfield: that would be so much easier. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming on and talking to us. You've obviously got great chemistry and I have listened to your episodes as well. So I really do. Enjoy your episodes and I would encourage my listeners to click on the links in the show notes that I will leave for the SEO Mindset Podcast.
I don't know if you have any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with. You've offered some brilliant advice and tips throughout the episode. I don't know if either of you or both of you would like to leave our, leave my listeners with something.
Sarah McDowell: We could both do one. My quick one is stop [00:42:00] overthinking, just do it.
The next thing that you want to try, just stop overthinking it, find out what you need to do to get it done and just give it a go. And I'll relate back to what I said earlier. Two things are going to happen, you're going to love it, or you're going to hate it. You might not even hate it. It might be a mild, do you know what?
That was a bit meh. Just don't do it again. But how do you know that you've got to try stuff? Otherwise you don't know the stuff that you're going to excel at. So stop overthinking, is what I would say.
Tazmin Suleman: For me, I would say, be yourself, have fun and own the title that you are a podcaster and don't, don't shy away from it.
So recently our newest addition to the family, four month little Eli and Sabir was, my daughter was saying, he's going to go to nursery and look at the [00:43:00] other kids and say. Your granny doesn't have a podcast. My granny has a podcast because he won't know any different. So, so own it because you are taking a step out of your comfort zone.
You are putting value out there. And you're growing. So own that.
Sarah McDowell: Yeah. Just have fun. Just have fun. I love that.
Rachael Botfield: Well, brilliant. Thank you so much, both of you. And to everyone, thank you for listening and we'll catch you next time.